Leftover pie? Make a vegan cherry pie shake!

When life gives you leftover pie, make a pie shake! This vegan cherry pie shake is made with pie, non-dairy milk, and cashew ice cream. It’s pure decadence in a glass.

There has been a wealth of pie in our house lately.

First, we had a cast & crew party to screen David’s newest Twin Peaks-inspired short film that he wrote, directed, and edited. You may recall that he has entered the Twin Peaks Festival film contest and won first place for the past two years in a row. The contest has a 5-minute length maximum, and David felt his finale couldn’t be told in that few of minutes. So this year, he didn’t enter the contest. However, he did give his series of short films a big send-off with masterful drone footage that he shot, pyrotechnics, and even a few death scenes.

(Don’t worry. No one was actually harmed in the making of this movie… except for our friend who was “killed” by a foam brick to the head. He didn’t realize it had scratched up his face until he smeared fake blood on the wound. The blood was made with balsamic reduction, and you can imagine how it stung! Sorry, Jaret!)

The evening of the party, we watched films one, two, and then three (above). You can watch the third short film on its own, but they work best in succession. And of course, we had a variety of snacks.

For the party, I made a selection of diner-style appetizers to go along with the frequent diner scenes in the show. I served warm spinach artichoke dip, crispy fried pickles, and vegan crab rangoon. David finished off the spread by making two kinds of pie – blueberry & cherry.

Then the acclaimed TV series, Twin Peaks, returned to television after 25 years away. The day of the premiere, David couldn’t help but make another pie to enjoy while he watched all four hours of programming that were released that day. He actually moved our coffee maker into the TV room for the evening, so that he wouldn’t have to press pause for a refill. That’s some serious dedication to entertainment immersion.

Vegan cherry pie shake

So with all of these pies coming through, I’ve had a chance to perfect a dessert that’s long been on my to-do list: vegan cherry pie shake. The pie shake is made with non-dairy milk, cashew ice cream, and a slice of pie. That’s right. There’s actual pie in this cherry pie shake. It’s not just a few lone cherries and graham crackers thrown into a blender. This is total decadence.

To make a pie shake, you can use any kind of pie that you like. However, it’s especially well suited to cherry. I tried blueberry first, but the cherry flavor comes together with the vanilla ice cream in a way that’s harmonious.

I got the idea for a pie shake from an Iowa City restaurant, Hamburg Inn. Pie shakes are their signature menu item. Hamburg Inn is one of those small-town diners, not dissimilar from the RR Diner in Twin Peaks. Whenever politicians come through Iowa in the seemingly endless election season, you can count on a photo op at Hamburg Inn.

I’ve never actually eaten a pie shake from Hamburg Inn. They’re not vegan, and I haven’t stepped inside the restaurant since my college days. However, all the more reason to use our wealth of leftover pie to make one at home with So Delicious vanilla cashew ice cream, cashew milk, and a jarred cherry on top. (You could certainly go with maraschino, but I chose a jarred bing cherry. Check your natural grocery store for jarred cherries made without weird dyes and whatnot.)

Since the Twin Peaks reboot won’t end its season until September, I imagine there will be several more pie shakes in my future. Try it for yourself. One slurp, and you will be hooked.

Put non-dairy milk, non-dairy ice cream, and 1/2 cup vegan cherry pie into a blender. Blend very briefly until the ingredients are just combined. You don't want it to get too liquidy. It's best if the pie isn't completely disintegrated in the shake.

Pour the shake into a glass and top with the remaining 1/4 cup of pie. Crumble it on top and adorn the shake with a single sundae-style cherry.***

Cuisine: American |Recipe Type: Dessert

Notes

*You don't want to use too much milk, because then the shake becomes overly liquidy. However, if you're using a non high speed blender, you may need to add a little more to get everything running. Be sparing, and add just what you need.

**To measure the pie, simply cut off pieces and smash it into a measuring cup. It's roughly the amount of one slice of pie.

***If your toppings want to sink in the glass, add an additional dollop of non-dairy ice cream to the glass. It will float, and then the toppings can lay on top of it.

Too cool!! Loved the mirror interplay at the end, shame he couldn't enter it in the contest but great decision to keep it the fuller length! And what a perfect milkshake to accompany the relaunch of Twin Peaks <3

Thanks, Lysette! Even though I was there for all of the filming, it's still really fun to see the end result with the effects. The mirror interplay is one of my favorite parts. Thanks for the kind words on the shake!

Haha! I was definitely worried we'd eat all of the pie before I had a chance to test and photograph the pie shake. Luckily, there were THREE pies involved over the testing and photographing process. Like I said, it's been pie mania here!

I want to tell you how much I love your shake but I'm too scared. :/ Seriously that film was so good! Great acting too! There I feel better now. so now I can say 'can't wait to make you cherry pie shake'. :)

What an end to a the trilogy! I bet there were people sad that it was able to be entered in the competition. Loved the mirror work at the end, very clever!
I love that you used balsamic reduction for blood.
The milkshake sounds so good!

Thanks, Susan! Balsamic reduction works surprisingly well for blood. It has a great color & viscosity. Plus, it stays in place without too much running. David used it for blood on his head in the second film (when I hit him on the head with a skillet). Haha! Now you know how we're spending our weekends! Thanks for the kind words.

This is amazing, Cadry! There's an ice cream place here called Jake's that makes "piescreams," where they mash up a whole pie into the batch of ice cream. I used to love piescream before going vegan, and this looks like it would hit that same spot! And I love David's short, of course!

Thanks, Mary Ellen! If you love Twin Peaks, you'll really enjoy David's film. You'll have to let me know what you think! I always have a bottle of balsamic glaze in the cabinet, and we happened to use it for blood during the second film. It stays in place nicely and has a wonderful color & viscosity. So this time around, we knew just what to grab when the fight scene rolled around. Balsamic glaze: It's not just for bruschetta anymore. Haha!

Let's split the difference - you should come to one of my parties AND I'll make you a pie shake! After hearing about the pie shake at Hamburg Inn for years and years, I'm glad I finally got around to making my own vegan version. So good!

Thank you, Amy! The Twin Peaks mania has certainly had a resurgence - especially in our house. Surprisingly enough, I was never into it! In fact, I've only seen a part of one episode. Yet, I've been in THREE Twin Peaks-inspired films. Haha!